Feb 17, 2003

(CIDRAP News)  The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 people in the Congo have died of a suspected acute hemorrhagic fever syndrome. A Reuters report said the disease is suspected to be Ebola virus infection.

"Experiences in a growing number of countries indicate that the disease can be contained, thus supporting WHO's overall objective: to prevent SARS from becoming widely established as another new disease in humans," the organization said in its online update.

Nov 18, 2003

(CIDRAP News)  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced the start of the first human trial of a vaccine for Ebola virus infection, a currently untreatable disease that kills most of its victims.

Nov 26, 2003

(CIDRAP News) – The death toll in the Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the Congo has increased to 18, with a total of 36 cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported yesterday.

The outbreak involves two villages in the Mbomo district of the Cuvette Ouest Department. The villages are in the northwestern Congo, about 440 miles northwest of Brazzaville, the capital, according to a Reuters report.

Jun 01, 2004

(CIDRAP News) – The outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in southern Sudan has increased to 25 cases with six deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

The WHO had reported 19 cases and four deaths May 24 when it first confirmed the outbreak in Yambio County of Sudan's Western Equatoria province. The agency said it is continuing to help with surveillance, case management, and follow-up with contacts of patients.